Mantle of the Gods [LitRPG / Slow Burn / FTB Harem]

My CB was buzzing.

The noise as well as the vibration was enough to wake me up. I wasn't surprised that Ether hadn't woken up. It took a lot to pull her from sleep, but Ren was a different story. I was usually an early riser, but I'd never beaten her out of bed before. It also didn't help that Ren was lying on my left arm.

I thought about ignoring it but looked at the display to see who it was. As soon as I saw it said Rix, I yanked my arm out from under the woman beside me and answered the call.

"RIX! Are you okay? Is Pixie okay?" I scooted back so I could sit against the headboard.

"We're…" Rix looked away from her screen for a moment. "Surviving." The redhead took a deep breath. "We're in the Trazor Temple Dungeon. We got back to the first floor, but it was Therus Gammus."

"The Bronze Cobras were the ones that kidnapped you?" I realized that I shouldn't be listening to this alone. I needed to get to Trent and Gesai. Maybe Miel and probably Klix. Ren was stirring on my left and Ether was sound asleep on my right, so I had to scoot forward to get out of bed. "One sec, I'm going to get Trent."

"Trent's awake?" Rix touched her chest. "I felt you add Astrid, so I hoped..." She swallowed as she composed herself. "How is he?"

"Recovering. But the trap did a number on him. It's going to be a few weeks before he's back to full strength." I made it out of the bed and headed towards the door.

"Who are you talking to?" Ren sat up and rubbed her eyes.

I stopped and turned back around. If she was awake, then we could get more people faster. "It's Rix; I'm going to get Trent. Get Gesai, then tell Kara to get Klix." I realized I'd dropped my wrist, so Rix was looking at the bed. I turned my wrist so I could look at her. "Sorry, Ren woke up."

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Rix blinked as she stared at the screen. It didn't seem like she was interested in my explanation.

"How did you get away?" I hurried down the hall. I tried to remember which room Trent was staying in.

"We didn't have to, but I'll wait until Trent is there so I don't have to tell the story twice." Rix growled under her breath as she looked away again. "Short version is, we're okay right now."

"Good. We've been really worried about you. Klix has been tearing the city apart looking for both of you." I swallowed. "When you weren't in the party anymore, we thought you might be dead, but your symbols were still on the seal, so we didn't know what to think."

"It probably broke when we went through the portal." Rix leaned against a tree and held her arm up like she was watching something on the other side of the screen while she was also talking to me.

"Portal?" I knocked on a door. I couldn't remember which one was Trent's, so I did the next best thing.

Rix nodded, but it looked like whatever she was watching off screen was demanding more of her attention. If I had to bet, I'd guess Pixie was doing something.

"ATLAS!" Gesai threw open the door to her room. Ren was across the hall talking to a very grumpy Kara. I should have guessed that Kara would be a deep sleeper, just like her sister.

"Is that Pixie?" Kara's eyes lit up.

I pointed at my CB. "No, it's Rix. I'm talking to her now. She's got Pixie with her. They're in Trazor."

"Trazor?" Trent appeared in the doorway behind me. His voice was weak, and he was leaning against the doorframe. "How did you get to Trazor in two days?"

"We...!"

The connection died. I tapped on the screen. There had been some type of surge that had shorted it out. Things like that sometimes happened in Zeb. I'd heard the Adventurers complain about how the signal never dropped out in the cities. I didn't know what caused it, but if I had to guess, it had something to do with the city of Trazor.

"One second, I'll call her back." I started to cycle the menu.

"Wait." Trent pushed off the door frame and headed for the elevator. "Let's go to the conference room. It'll be easier on everyone there."

"Okay." I lowered my arm. As much as I wanted to talk to Rix, at least I knew she was alive. Right now, that was enough for me to hold onto for a few minutes.